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The union representing Children’s Aid Society workers in Peel Region says it’s prepared to strike this weekend after rejecting a “final offer” it received late Wednesday night.

The deadline for a lockout or strike is shortly after midnight on Saturday. But Local 4914 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 435 children’s aid workers in the cities of Brampton and Mississauga and the town of Caledon, said it won’t strike before 12:01 a.m. on Sunday.

No talks are currently scheduled. CUPE 4914 president Sonia Yung said the union’s main points of contention are the working conditions and safety of its members.

“Workload has always been an issue,” Yung said. “It comes down to one word, which is respect. Respect of workers as individuals, the energy and the effort that they put into what they do.”

The two sides met Wednesday for about 12 hours with the help of a provincially appointed mediator. After what Yung described as the most productive of at least 10 meetings, she said she was “surprised” when the Children’s Aid Society tabled what it called a “final offer” around 10 p.m.

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She said the union’s bargaining team reviewed the offer and decided unanimously to reject it. Their previous contract expired March 31.

“We are disappointed that our final offer was not accepted and we were not able to reach an agreement,” Rav Bains, CEO of the Peel Children’s Aid Society, said in a statement. “We feel we have put forward a fair offer which includes salary increases in each of the three years as well as improvements to other benefits and working conditions. While we would like to be able to give our employees more, our funding remains constant at a 2 per cent increase each year and this severely constrains our financial flexibility.”

Yung said the union wants “modest improvements to wages and benefits,” but that the two sides weren’t far off from agreement on financial issues.

“Most of the issues aren’t things that would cost a great deal of money. They really are about the working environment,” she said.

In 2014, the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies released a series of recommendations to reduce physical and emotional harms caused by unsafe circumstances for children’s aid workers across the province.

It highlighted a survey in which 27 per cent of children’s aid workers reported they had experienced assault, while 45 per cent reported a threat to themselves or their families. More than two-thirds reported verbal or written abuse against themselves or their families and nearly half said they’d experienced secondary trauma because of violence affecting a co-worker or child.

The Peel Children’s Aid Society said a potential strike would impact its level of service due to a reduced workforce. It added, however, that its contingency plan would still entail “qualified and experienced staff” responding to child protection concerns, but that the most urgent situations would be prioritized.

“For example we will be conducting all investigations where a child might be at immediate risk, attending court and supporting open cases,” Bains stated.

The Peel Children’s Aid Society has had an average of 405 children and youth in care since last year.

“We don’t want to disrupt the service and the supports that we provide on a daily basis to the children and families of Peel Region,” Yung said. “People have put a lot of effort and energy into establishing those relationships with their families. They have gained their trust. The last thing we would want is for that to be eroded.”

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